Except where expressly made an infraction, whenever any act is prohibited by this chapter, or is made or declared to be unlawful, or an offense, or the doing of any act is required or the failure to do any act is declared to be unlawful, the violation shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or by both fine and imprisonment; provided, nevertheless, that any such aforesaid violation or offense may be deemed an infraction as defined by Section 19C of the California Penal Code and charged as such in the discretion and at the election of the prosecuting attorney, in which event the punishment therefor shall not be imprisonment but a fine not to exceed the amounts specified by Government Code Section 36900 as then in effect. Every day any violation of any provision of this chapter continues constitutes a separate offense. (Prior code § 2-78)